New Zealander Mitch Evans stormed to pole in today’s qualifying session at the Valencia Street Circuit in a sweltering session and he will be joined by his MW Arden teammate David Fumanelli on the front row. GP3 Series leader Aaro Vainio will start in P3.
The thirty minute qualifying session got underway with temperatures of 24 degrees, as the heat intensified on and off the track for the fierce battle for pole. The Lotus GP trio were first to make their way onto track with Conor Daly on a mission as the American has a ten place grid penalty applied to his qualifying position for Race 1 later today. After the initial installation laps, it was Evans who led the pack in front of Tio Ellinas (Marussia Manor Racing) until Kevin Ceccon (Ocean Racing Technology) and Fumanelli displaced the Cypriot.
Evans was the first driver to break into the 1’58s barrier and held position at the top of the timings at the midway point. With 12 minutes remaining, Vainio snatched provisional pole just one tenth faster than the New Zealander. Daly rose to P4 with Fumanelli going P1 until his teammate improved on his time by a mere 0.033s.
(L to R) Fumanelli, Evans, and Vainio
In the final three minutes, Ceccon grabbed P3, demoting Vainio but the Finn battled back to reclaim his position. Traffic played a big part towards the ends of the session with Jenzer Motorsport’s Patric Niederhauser having stopped on the start/finish straight which caused the yellow flags to come out meaning drivers had to lift off on their final attempt.
Evans clinched his third pole of his GP3 career with Fumanelli achieving a career best in second. Vainio in P3 starts ahead of Ceccon, Antonio Felix Da Costa (Carlin) and Ellinas. Daly qualified P7 but will line up 17th. Matias Laine (MW Arden), Marlon Stockinger (Status Grand Prix) and Daniel Abt complete the top ten.
Qualifying
Pos
Driver
Team
Lap time
Laps
1.
Mitch Evans
MW Arden
1:58.478
12
2.
David Fumanelli
MW Arden
1:58.511
11
3.
Aaro Vainio
Lotus GP
1:58.567
13
4.
Kevin Ceccon
Ocean Racing Technology
1:58.772
12
5.
Antonio Felix Da Costa
Carlin
1:58.991
13
6.
Tio Ellinas
Marussia Manor Racing
1:59.009
12
7.
Conor Daly*
Lotus GP
1:59.015
12
8.
Matias Laine
MW Arden
1:59.031
12
9.
Marlon Stockinger
Status Grand Prix
1:59.091
12
10.
Daniel Abt
Lotus GP
1:59.276
13
11.
Tamas Pal Kiss
Atech CRS GP
1:59.332
14
12.
William Buller
Carlin
1:59.356
12
13.
Alice Powell
Status Grand Prix
1:59.399
12
14.
Robert Visoiu
Jenzer Motorsport
1:59.568
13
15.
Fabiano Machado
Marussia Manor Racing
1:59.708
13
16.
Alex Brundle
Carlin
1:59.820
12
17.
Patric Niederhauser
Jenzer Motorsport
1:59.906
12
18.
John Wartique
Atech CRS GP
2:00.047
14
19.
Dmitry Suranovich
Marussia Manor Racing
2:00.062
13
20.
Robert Cregan
Ocean Racing Technology
2.00.306
13
21.
Antonio Spavone
Trident Racing
2.00.334
13
22.
Vicky Piria
Trident Racing
2.00.406
13
23.
Ethan Ringel
Atech CRS GP
2.01.300
13
24.
Carmen Jorda
Ocean Racing Technology
2.02.103
12
*Conor Daly will start from 17th after a ten place grid penalty
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